Well seeing as though we looked at the biggest hits of the 90's on the Billboard charts that were also hits in Australia and/or NZ that decade, I've decided to give the same courtesy to the 80's as Billboard also released a top 500 for that decade on their website which I found fascinating. Again, I'm only including songs that were hits in the southern hemisphere back in the day as I'm not particularly interested in looking over songs that flopped with us Aussies and Kiwis, although there are more entries regardless due to how few entries there are on the official list that didn't appeal to either nation.
How has it taken me this long for me to feature a track from Pat Benatar on this list? I didn't skip any of her entries on Billboard's 80's list either, meaning this is her biggest hit in her homeland according to the website. She has one more entry to come on this list, however she did score a string of hits during the first half of the decade with her more rock-oriented material.
Apparently, this was originally the theme song to a film known as Disordelies, Fat boys fans will recognise this film as it was what put them on the hip hop map despite it being panned by critics. This would explain how Bananarama earned a second placement on Billboard's 80's list given its success was likely tied to the film rather than their artist momentum from their earlier entry.
Dusty Springfield did have moderate success in America during her heyday in the 60's, so it makes sense her collaboration with the Pet shop boys would almost top the Billboard charts two decades later. It proved to be equally as popular in their native UK, although this is their final appearance on this list as the rest of their singles didn't qualify for Billboard's 80's list.
This was equally as successful in America as it was in the UK for the Bangles as this almost topped both charts back in the day, although interestingly it was block from number one on Billboard by "Kiss" from Prince which is fascinating as he wrote this song under a pseudonym for the girls. Despite having a strong start to their career (assuming you ignore their debut album) this song appears quite low on this list.
Although it didn't produce a number one single in America, at least the Beverly Hills cop soundtrack was able to have all three of their big international hits make it on this list as the character theme to Eddie Murphy's Axel Foley was also a massive hit on Billboard just like it was throughout the rest of the world.
She may have distanced herself from the film as far back as the Immaculate collection, however there's no denying that Who's that girl was a huge commercial success for Madonna as far as its singles were concerned given how this track that opens the film almost made it to number one on Billboard upon its initial release.
It's been a while since we looked at John Cougar on this list, again I haven't skipped any of his entries on Billboards 80's list, meaning his time to shine was in 1982 with that light dimming as the decade went on. He would've had one more appearance with "Small town" on this list, however it bombed internationally despite it being a staple on oldies stations.
Even if he had other hits outside of America throughout the decade, this would be Richard Marx's final entry on this list as the other hits he had on Billboard failed to make their 80's list. This was the song that put him on the map globally given how it was a huge sleeper hit here in Australia as well as a decent hit throughout Europe.
We've had quite a few near misses on this list lately, haven't we? This time it's from Madonna once again who followed up her magnum opus "Like a prayer" with this feminist anthem which almost topped the Billboard charts upon its initial release. There was little doubt this would be a hit for her as she wouldn't have her first flop in America until "Oh father" by the end of the decade.
You'd think that "Candy girl" would be the big hit that these guys had in their homeland this decade given how that topped the UK charts two years prior to when this came out, alas this was the introduction to their music as far as their fellow Americans were concerned. They had another hit over there later in the decade following the departure of Bobby Brown, but it didn't make the website's 80's list.
Looking at the chart run, you'd think this would be equally as popular in America as it was internationally for Matthew Wilder. Alas it was more lucrative internationally as its impressive run was due to the lack of competition the first half of the decade had compared to the second half. Still, the fact this made it on Billboard’s 80's list means that it was well loved upon its initial release over there.
This was the final international hit that Chicago had, even then it was only a sleeper hit here in Australia which is how it made the cut for this list of mine. If I weren't skipping over entries that weren't successful in the southern hemisphere, these guys would have four more appearances on here in addition to the two we've looked at.
We have the reappearance of the other big hit the Spinners had throughout the world on this list, again so much for the disco backlash from the start of the 80's that was taking place in America. I'm willing to bet there would be a ton of other entries from the disco genre on Billboard's 80's list had they obviously not been biased towards the second half of the decade to be frank.
Given this was a huge chart topper here in Australia, you'd think that would be the case for Pat Benatar in her homeland where she was far more lucrative. Alas you'd be wrong as this was only slightly less popular than her earlier entry on Billboard, I can't even say it was due to their Christmas period when this peaked as that time isn't as lucrative over there as it is in the UK.
It would've been shocking if this didn't make Billboard's 80's list given how popular it was internationally for the J Geils band, obviously it did make the cut, but nowhere near as high as I would like given how it wasn't anywhere near as big as their earlier entry on this list even in their homeland.
While this was a hit over on Billboard for Juice Newton, it only saw massive success here in Australia due to Juice Newton performing it on Countdown (the Australian TOTP for those new to this site not from Australia.) She would've had one more entry on this list with "The sweetest thing" had that been a hit internationally like her two entries on this list were.
Although this managed to make it onto Billboard's 80's list, I'm a bit shocked it wasn't as big as their two earlier entries on this list over there given how massive it was here in Australia. This means that it was the success it had down under that allowed the boys to top the UK charts with this just as the decade was coming to an end.
This is the only other appearance that the Cars were able to make on Billboard's 80's list, at least both entries were international hits for the band otherwise they'd have even less representation on this list of mine. Still, it is surprising that they didn't have more entries on the website as they had plenty of other hits over there.
I'm not sure I understand the album cycle for Def Leppard in America as this was the last single to be released from Hysteria over there, that didn't prevent it from appearing on this list of mine as it was a huge hit on Billboard as well as in NZ which qualified it for this list. Sadly, this was the final top ten hit they had as their next album came after Billboard changed their chart format in 1991.
Now I know what you're all thinking, how come I've yet to mention "Open your heart" on this site of mine? Despite it being a Billboard chart topper (and thus a shoe in for an entry much higher on this list) it unfortunately bombed in Australia and NZ which means I can't include it. It would make the top ten for my favourite Madonna tracks if it were eligible for my site.
It's fitting how the only other hit that Van Halen had internationally from their earlier entry on this list was also their only other entry on Billboard's 80's list, although some will say this is a different band given how they had switched out David Lee Roth for Sammy Hager as their lead vocalist starting with this single. I guess it's safe to say fans preferred David given how "Jump" eclipses this song's success.
OK I'm definitively cheating with this entry as this isn't just a remix of a track that made it big here in Australia like Kylie Minogue's earlier entry on this list, however there's no denying that the English cover of Nena's massive worldwide hit was a success in America given how it almost topped the Billboard charts whilst the original remained in obscurity until the internet age over there.
This was INXS's debut single as far as the northern hemisphere is concerned given how it became a massive hit in America six months after it almost topped the Australian charts, these guys would of course go on to be household names on their next album with the entries from earlier on this list, however this was a solid start to their international fame.
Had it been just a little bit more of a hit here in Australia, "Things can only get better" would've appeared slightly earlier on this list as that was the big hit that Howard Jones had in America throughout the decade. This was a close second even if once again we're looking at the remix of the album version rather than the original which was a massive flop worldwide.
I bet you forgot about when I said these guys had a third hit in America didn't you? Here's that third hit which coincidently was their first Australian chart topper even though it failed to top the Billboard charts for the Irish band. Now I don’t want to say they never troubled the Billboard charts again after this; however, this is the last time they had a hit worthy of making it onto one of these lists over there.
In case you were wondering, Journey would've had two entries on this list that would both outrank Steve Perry's solo hit had I allowed for songs that didn't become a hit in the southern hemisphere to be included on this site. How he managed to score a massive worldwide hit with his solo entry whilst his band went unheard of globally is beyond me, yet here we are talking about it.
Although he had massive success with his band Raydio in his native America throughout the 70's, it appears we Aussies were able to make the first solo entry from Ray Parker Jr a chart topper here even though it wasn't as such in his homeland. That's not to say it bombed on Billboard (given its placement on this list of course) however it wasn't that big for the future Ghostbusters plagiarist.
Although they had a bit of trouble retaining their popularity on Billboard due to being a disco band, Kool and the gang were able to fit in with the MTV era thanks to pivoting towards adult contemporary which helped them get out of the one hit wonder bin "Celebration" threatened to trap them in earlier in the decade with this ballad.
Further proof that the disco backlash wasn't as severe as what music historians make it out to be, although this was the only hit that the SOS band had in their homeland given how "Just be good to me" was a huge flop for them over there later in the decade.
This is the final appearance for Huey Lewis on the News on this list, although it would've been "Perfect world" had that been a hit for them anywhere in the world outside of their native America. I'm surprised this wasn't their second Billboard chart topper off of Fore given how much of a failure "Jacob's ladder" was for them internationally.
If you're wondering how this managed to become such a massive worldwide hit despite it failing to crack the Billboard top five, that's because it was also a surprise hit in the UK for Cameo which allowed Europeans to follow suit in making this a success. That said, it took its sweet time in becoming a hit in the southern hemisphere as it had dropped off the charts in the northern hemisphere when it did so.
Do you even remember that Fleetwood Mac had an entry earlier in this list? Let alone that I mentioned they would have a second appearance on here? Well, here we are with that entry as they scored a huge hit on Billboard with this signature track from their album Tango in the night, they had other hits over there throughout the decade, but none of them made it onto their 80's list.
I guess this guy was able to have a hit in his native America after all given how this made Billboard's 80's list, once again, so much for that disco backlash that started in 1979. I guess this explains how it became a massive hit in NZ and even a moderate hit here in Australia even though he already had tons of success with his albums in both countries throughout the 70's.
This is the penultimate appearance from Madonna on this list, it was also her final hit of the decade in America given how "Oh father" became her first flop on the Billboard charts in the final month of the 80's. This is another near miss to appear on this list which makes Madonna the artist with the most entries on Billboard’s 80's list with number two hits.
Given how this was chosen as the second single from Terence's debut album in America, it makes sense it would be his other big hit on Billboard even if he scored two other hits throughout the rest of the world on said album. Indeed, this was his final hit over there despite having success as recently as the mid 90's in the southern hemisphere.
This was almost Tears for fears’ third Billboard chart topper as it got lost in the shuffle during the final months of the decade to get to number one in America, I guess it was a combination of how long the wait was between their second and third albums as well as this being completely different from what they had to offer previously.
All things considered; I'm surprised this wasn't a huge Billboard chart topper for OMD given how this was the theme to a very popular film of the day even if it comes to us from a British band. What's more surprising is how much less popular this was compared to "Don't you" internationally as these guys were at least as popular worldwide as Simple minds were at the time.
Well, here's someone whose absence has been felt on this list, although he would've appeared earlier on this list had "My heart can't tell you no" been a worldwide hit back in the day. I guess there was still plenty of goodwill he had from his run in the 70's for this to be a success in America, and to be fair he did have a string of other moderate hits on Billboard that failed to appear on their 80's list.
It seems these guys were more successful than the Power station everywhere in the world except for Australia back in the day, "Some like it hot" was a big hit in America but not enough of one to make Billboard’s 80's list and thus my list after all. This made the cut, proving that Robert Palmer seemed to be a hindrance for Duran Duran given how Arcadia is made up of members who weren't part of that group.
This was barely a hit here in Australia and too minor of a sleeper hit to qualify for the NZ side of my site, so it's fitting how it wasn't among the biggest hits in Animotion's native America even if it managed to become a surprise hit for them in the UK somehow. Unsurprisingly they remain a one hit wonder even in their homeland to this day.
Although she had other hits in America throughout the 80's, this is the only other entry that made it onto Billboard's 80's list which even then seems a bit low until you remember they heavily favoured the second half of the decade over the first half on that list. Even so, I would've been shocked if this hadn't made the cut given how it was Laura's biggest hit in the UK as well as a huge hit here in Australia.
This is the final appearance of Duran Duran on this list, although they too had several other hits that Billboard couldn't fit onto their 80's list so don't think this is a comprehensive collection of all their biggest hits in America. This often gets overshadowed in their catalogue due to this being the lead single from the same album that spawned their biggest hit towards the top of this list.
This is the final appearance from Madonna on this list, again it's by no means a comprehensive collection of all her achievements in America throughout the decade as she had other hits that failed to appear on Billboard’s 80's list. I also apologise for not talking about "True blue" earlier as I'm sure people are going to comment about "Open your heart's" absence on this list otherwise.
This is the last appearance of INXS on this list, sadly this is a complete collection of their hits in America as they unfortunately didn't have much success outside of Listen like thieves and Kick on Billboard. Indeed, their popularity would fall off a cliff at the start of the 90's given how they failed to appear on my 90's list even with such an advantage they had for doing so.
We have another final entry on this list, this time it's from Prince who managed to score a huge hit with the title track of his critically acclaimed double album from 1987. Again, it's a good thing the kiwis fell in love with this track as we Aussies unfortunately didn't given how it flopped here.
This was the final appearance from the Pointer sisters on Billboard’s 80's list, although you wouldn't have thought it would qualify if you were going by their yearend lists from back in the day as it's the second entry on here to fail to do so following the Rolling stones from way earlier on this list (and it won't be the last either.) This is why I'm uncomfortable expanding this list as I really don't know what comes next after #500.
This is the final entry from George Michael on this list, again this is far from a comprehensive look at his popularity in America throughout the decade given how he had plenty of other hits on Billboard both solo and with his partner in crime Andrew Ridgeley. That said, it's a little surprising this wasn't even bigger over there given how it was a massive chart topper in his native UK.
I told you both hits from Tone loc managed to be a success in his native America just like they were internationally, although this is definitely not as successful on Billboard as it was in NZ or even here in Australia which goes to show how ahead of the curve we Aussies and kiwis were when it came to embracing hip hop in our respective scenes.
It appears George Benson was able to score two entries on Billboard’s 80's list, both of them were massive hits in NZ which is how they both appeared on my list over so many others that failed to do so. Naturally he got really lucky with this ballad as there's no way it would've been a hit if it were released even six months later over there.
We have our third and final entry on this list that failed to appear on a Billboard year end list, again this is why I don't want to expand this list past what the website has provided us as I have no idea how they calculated their list and I don't want to add any new entries that would go against whatever formula they used. As for Donna Summer, she made the right call to move away from disco with this number it seems.
It's a bit weird that this was a UK chart topper for Don Mclean as it was only a hit in his native America six months after it become one of the first mega hits of the decade with the Brits. Naturally this made the cut due to being a sleeper hit in NZ for him, although we Aussies weren't impressed with this ballad unfortunately.
Given how they were two of the more successful artists of the decade in America, it makes sense that this collaboration between Kenny Rogers and Sheena Easton would made the cut for Billboard’s 80's list even if it's a bit lower on the list than I would expect. This is a cover of a Bob Seger track after all, although it did peak during a particularly slow time in the music scene over there.
Even though this was a big hit for Samantha Fox in her native UK, I'm willing to bet this crossover to America due to it being a massive chart topper for her here in Australia as we Aussies couldn't get enough of this track from the model turned singer. She would've appeared sooner with "Naughty girl" had that been a hit anywhere else in the world.
The final entry on this list, it's a bit poetic it ends the same way its 90's counterpart did as we have a woman of colour finding more success with the song in question here in Australia than she did in her native America. Admittedly the gap between its success here and on Billboard wasn't as vast as it was for Crystal Waters mainly due to it being the title track of a popular film of the moment.
Well, what have we learned from this list? First off, Hollywood seemed to have somewhat of an influence on what became popular in America this decade as there were a ton of massive hits on here that were attached to popular films in some way or another. Secondly, although they were more reliable in the 80’s than they were in the 90’s, the Billboard charts were still massively chaotic given how the website had to favour the second half of the decade over the first in order to include as many popular tracks as possible which meant several obvious choices from the first half are conspicuously absent. Although that said, it definitely didn’t feel like they were scraping the bottom of the barrel to fill this up to a top 500 as every entry on here could’ve easily made the top 300 on the 90’s list, which is why I can’t stress enough that this isn’t a comprehensive list of all the biggest hits of the decade that were also as such in the southern hemisphere. I just wish Billboard would expand this list even to a top 600 so I can give a more accurate assessment of what was the overall trend of the decade for American listeners.
What I can give you is a summary of what we’ve looked at on this list, first off while it isn’t quite as diverse as it was in the 90’s, there were still plenty of women, people of colour and even LGBT performers on this list (even if they were closeted at the time in the case of the latter.) Again, don’t listen to those irritating gender studies graduates on Twitter as we have to go back to the 50’s before we even begin to consider the fact music was made purely for straight white cis able-bodied men and no one else. One thing the 80’s had over the 90’s was a noticeable uptake in non-American artists as we’ve had plenty of entries from British, Australian, Canadian and even European artists with some songs not even being in English to boot. I can’t really say what the definitive genre was for the decade as there’s plenty of entries from rock, pop, RNB, new wave and yes, disco which I hope can dispel the myth that the disco backlash had that much of an impact on the music scene back in the day. I’m sure it felt like that at the time, however the disco entries on this list suggest otherwise. With that said, I have to say that I had a ton of fun constructing both of these lists even if it took a lot out of me as is the case with every list on this site. If Billboard ever expands upon this list or does one for the 70’s and 00’s, I’ll be here to report on it, until then take care and I’ll see you around.
